Ethical hacking methodology

Skill ranbot-ai/awesome-skills/skills/ethical-hacking-methodology

Awesome Claude Skills, Tools for Customizing Claude AI workflows

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npx -y skills add ranbot-ai/awesome-skills --skill ethical-hacking-methodology

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Master the complete penetration testing lifecycle from reconnaissance through reporting. This skill covers the five stages of ethical hacking methodology, essential tools, attack techniques, and profe

SKILL.md

5.4 KB, ~1.2k tokens by cl100k_base, as published. Nobody here has run it

⚠️ AUTHORIZED USE ONLY This skill is for educational purposes or authorized security assessments only. You must have explicit, written permission from the system owner before using this tool. Misuse of this tool is illegal and strictly prohibited.

Mandatory confirmation gate Before running any command that probes, exploits, changes, persists on, extracts data from, or attempts credential access against a target:

Ask the user to state the exact target URL, IP, account, or resource.

Ask the user to confirm written authorization and the permitted scope.

Show the exact command(s) and explain their expected effect.

Wait for explicit confirmation in the current conversation.

Without that confirmation, remain read-only and provide defensive guidance only. Prefer a sandbox, disposable VM, or controlled lab.

AUTHORIZED USE ONLY: Use this skill only for authorized penetration testing engagements, defensive validation, or controlled educational environments.

Ethical Hacking Methodology

Purpose

Prerequisites

Required Environment

Kali Linux installed (persistent or live)
Network access to authorized targets
Written authorization from system owner

Required Knowledge

Basic networking concepts
Linux command-line proficiency
Understanding of web technologies
Familiarity with security concepts

Outputs and Deliverables

Reconnaissance Report - Target information gathered
Vulnerability Assessment - Identified weaknesses
Exploitation Evidence - Proof of concept attacks
Final Report - Executive and technical findings

Core Workflow

Phase 1: Understanding Hacker Types

Classification of security professionals:

White Hat Hackers (Ethical Hackers)

Authorized security professionals
Conduct penetration testing with permission
Goal: Identify and fix vulnerabilities
Also known as: penetration testers, security consultants

Black Hat Hackers (Malicious)

Unauthorized system intrusions
Motivated by profit, revenge, or notoriety
Goal: Steal data, cause damage
Also known as: crackers, criminal hackers

Grey Hat Hackers (Hybrid)

May cross ethical boundaries
Not malicious but may break rules
Often disclose vulnerabilities publicly
Mixed motivations

Other Classifications

Script Kiddies: Use pre-made tools without understanding
Hacktivists: Politically or socially motivated
Nation State: Government-sponsored operatives
Coders: Develop tools and exploits

Phase 2: Reconnaissance

Gather information without direct system interaction:

Passive Reconnaissance

# WHOIS lookup
whois target.com

# DNS enumeration
nslookup target.com
dig target.com ANY
dig target.com MX
dig target.com NS

# Subdomain discovery
dnsrecon -d target.com

# Email harvesting
theHarvester -d target.com -b all

Google Hacking (OSINT)

# Find exposed files
site:target.com filetype:pdf
site:target.com filetype:xls
site:target.com filetype:doc

# Find login pages
site:target.com inurl:login
site:target.com inurl:admin

# Find directory listings
site:target.com intitle:"index of"

# Find configuration files
site:target.com filetype:config
site:target.com filetype:env

Google Hacking Database Categories:

Files containing passwords
Sensitive directories
Web server detection
Vulnerable servers
Error messages
Login portals

Social Media Reconnaissance

LinkedIn: Organizational charts, technologies used
Twitter: Company announcements, employee info
Facebook: Personal information, relationships
Job postings: Technology stack revelations

Phase 3: Scanning

Active enumeration of target systems:

Host Discovery

# Ping sweep
nmap -sn 192.168.1.0/24

# ARP scan (local network)
arp-scan -l

# Discover live hosts
nmap -sP 192.168.1.0/24

Port Scanning

# TCP SYN scan (stealth)
nmap -sS target.com

# Full TCP connect scan
nmap -sT target.com

# UDP scan
nmap -sU target.com

# All ports scan
nmap -p- target.com

# Top 1000 ports with service detection
nmap -sV target.com

# Aggressive scan (OS, version, scripts)
nmap -A target.com

Service Enumeration

# Specific service scripts
nmap --script=http-enum target.com
nmap --script=smb-enum-shares target.com
nmap --script=ftp-anon target.com

# Vulnerability scanning
nmap --script=vuln target.com

Common Port Reference

Port	Service	Notes
21	FTP	File transfer
22	SSH	Secure shell
23	Telnet	Unencrypted remote
25	SMTP	Email
53	DNS	Name resolution
80	HTTP	Web
443	HTTPS	Secure web
445	SMB	Windows shares
3306

What ships with it

Read from the repository

Just SKILL.md. No reference files, no scripts.